Happy holidays to you and your family. 

As we look ahead to the promise of 2018 we also pause to reflect on the past year, one that none of us at the Red Cross will soon forget. Three massive hurricanes pounded Texas and Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Wildfires raged here in Montana and across California. And mass shootings left Las Vegas and Sutherland, Texas, in shock.

The Red Cross answered the call each time delivering food, shelter and comfort. In just a few months, more than 35 Montana Red Cross volunteers and staffers were deployed here at home and across the country, some multiple times. One volunteer, Toni Taylor of Missoula, did it all, supporting those in the path of Montana and California wildfires, deploying to Texas following Hurricane Harvey and helping victims of the Las Vegas shootings secure items like canes and wheel chairs.

Our volunteers are truly amazing, but their work wouldn’t be possible without some other incredible individuals – our generous donors. Your gifts help us prepare for and respond to disasters big and small, all the while carrying out the rest of our core mission.

Together our volunteers and donors brought relief to those who needed it most in places like Eureka and Jordan, Beaumont and Santa Rosa. You truly made a difference and we can’t thank you enough.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross or become a volunteer, please visit  www.redcross.org/montana or call 800-272-6668.

Here’s to a calmer, safer 2018.

Sincerely,

Tom Wozniak

Board chairman

American Red Cross of Montana